Paris can be a very, very busy place, and its parks can provide a welcome break for the whole family from a long day of sight-seeing.

WORDS sourced from Family Twist

Below are our favorite jardins publics, with lots to choose from depending on your mood and what you are looking for:

A PICNIC AREA?

Be careful, in Paris, it is forbidden to have picnics in some parks. To enjoy a lunch on the grass, we would advise you to go to Parc Monceau. No doubt you will notice the classy businessmen and women who come here on their lunch break to relax in the sun or in the shade of its ancient colonnades. For dinner, how about the Champs de Mars at the foot of the sparkling Eiffel Tower. You could well find yourself in the midst of students celebrating birthdays, but your kids will love the festive atmosphere.

A PLACE FOR THE LITTLE ONES?

Looking for a place aimed at very young kids? The Jardin d’Acclimatation is your best option. A bit further away from the city center in the Bois de Boulogne, it offers great attractions, fun-fair rides and even a zoo!

WILD ANIMALS?

The Jardin des Plantes is one of our personal favourites. It offers a wide range of educative entertainment, including botanical and alpine gardens, and greenhouses full of the most exotic plant. But even better are the zoo and the natural history museum with its Grande Galerie de l’Évolution, a breathtaking installation charting the history of evolution with an exhibition of hundreds of animal specimens.

Main image: Eiffel tower with bloomsAbove: View of the Parisian Trocadero from the Eiffel Tower

Top above: Columns by water at Parc MonceauAbove: Jardin du Luxembourg

INTRODUCTION TO THE ARTS?

The Jardin des Tuileries is the most central garden and definitely the most cultural, with the Louvre on one side and the Musée de l’Orangerie on the other (home to Monet’s famous painting, Water Lilies).

If Rodin is your man, go to the stunning garden of the Rodin Museum, near Invalides. If you do not visit the museum, the entrance fee is only €1 per person. The gardens of the Hotel Biron feature some of the sculptor’s most famous bronze statues, as well as a lovely rose garden. There is a café hidden under the trees, whose terrace is perfect for a light lunch or just a drink – you’ll feel immediately that you’ve been transported out of the city into the peaceful countryside. Another great experience is to see the garden by night. Since the beginning of this month, it is open until 20:45 on Wednesdays.

SO CHIC AND SO PARISIAN?

Two jewels of Paris’s garden crown are the Jardin du Palais Royal and the Jardin du Luxembourg.

The first is hidden near the Louvre among the columns of the Palais Royal. The fountain provides a great opportunity for the parents to relax as the kids are running about and playing.

The Jardin du Luxembourg is definitely worth a visit as it has to be one of the most wonderful gardens in Paris. The amazing view of the Senate, the classical garden, the traditional green seats will really get the parents going, and the wooden boats on the pond will provide loads of fun for the young ones.

Copy provided by Family Twist, a-UK based tour company specialising in travel to Paris and Loire Valley. Family Twist, is uniquely dedicated to providing parents and their young children with fun, luxurious and hassle-free breaks.